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dawnjoy's review
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
laurent's review
5.0
It won the Kenzaburō Ōe prize for a good reason (the writing style reminded me of him, even). Brilliantly captured the atmosphere of one of Japan's biggest modern issues and tackled on the japanese mentality in a refreshing (and moderately disturbing) way.
However, I wouldn't recommend it to people not affiliated with japanese contemporary fiction and "Landeskunde".
The translation itself was fine, I didn't find it lacking in any sense.
However, I wouldn't recommend it to people not affiliated with japanese contemporary fiction and "Landeskunde".
The translation itself was fine, I didn't find it lacking in any sense.
cat1122's review
3.0
I received an advance copy of ME Advance via LibraryThing.
What begins as a story that is about telephone scams quickly turns into a con artist being conned, but conned by his own self or the self he posed himself to be? While I was entertained while I read, I soon found myself trying to deconstruct the underlying message of the book, which to be honest, I found to be more complex than I thought.
The inter-weavings of “ME” left me thinking about what it means to be defined as one complete whole and how the “ME” in all of us is not always true given certain sets of circumstances. I found the juxtaposition of a Westernized Japan — McDonalds, with a stereotypical Japan — technology & cameras, perhaps the basis of the movement between traditional and modern Japanese paradigms expected by a broader reading audience.
While not my favorite read — certainly not a story I regret reading. Would I recommend this one? Yes….will I read it again down the road….probably not. But then again, that is just ME.
What begins as a story that is about telephone scams quickly turns into a con artist being conned, but conned by his own self or the self he posed himself to be? While I was entertained while I read, I soon found myself trying to deconstruct the underlying message of the book, which to be honest, I found to be more complex than I thought.
The inter-weavings of “ME” left me thinking about what it means to be defined as one complete whole and how the “ME” in all of us is not always true given certain sets of circumstances. I found the juxtaposition of a Westernized Japan — McDonalds, with a stereotypical Japan — technology & cameras, perhaps the basis of the movement between traditional and modern Japanese paradigms expected by a broader reading audience.
While not my favorite read — certainly not a story I regret reading. Would I recommend this one? Yes….will I read it again down the road….probably not. But then again, that is just ME.
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